2013 Goodguys PPG Nationals - The Big Leagues

We Head to Columbus for Goodguys’ Biggest Event of the Year

There are car shows and then there are car events so huge that they dwarf all others. The Goodguys PPG Nationals is such an event. Once a year, over 6,000 street machines, rods, g-Machines, and everything in between descend on Columbus, Ohio, for the mack daddy of all car shows. This is also where some of the best cars in the country vie for the coveted Street Machine of the Year (SMOTY) title. Cars that would normally clean house at any "normal" show are lucky to get into the "Pro's Picks" area at Columbus.

The competition is brutal, which is why getting the title is such an accomplishment. First, the herd of 6,000-plus cars is culled down to a group of Pro's Picks. Then the "Best of the Best" slug it out to be in the Top Five. From that handful of cars, the "top dog" is crowned the winner. And because real cars are driven, all the SMOTY hopefuls have to knock down three laps on the autocross course. The times don't count towards getting in the Top Five, but points for style and effort are factored in. After all, it would be hard to give top honors to someone who babied their ride around a simple squiggle of cones.

The Goodguys PPG Nationals is about more than just the SMOTY competition though. Outside the area reserved for the high-dollar stuff, we saw quite a few home-built rides that their budget-conscious owners were showing off with deserved pride. We also cruised the vendors' booths and spied some of the cool new products that are on, or about to hit, the market.

If you ever get the chance to attend this event, go. You won't be disappointed, and you certainly won't be bored.

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Kenny Edwards' 1968 was built on a tight budget and fielded an LS1/T56 combo ripped from a wrecked GTO. The recent high school graduate drove the Camaro to the show from New York and ran it hard enough to land in the Top Five shootout for the Street Machine class. His best lap was a 36.607.

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Josh Leisinger's Crusher Camaro was a real crowd pleaser on the autocross. Josh's best time was a very quick 35.601-second run. If you want to see more of this hard-charging 1970, then dig up the June 2012 issue of Camaro Performers magazine.

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2013 Goodguys PPG Nationals - The Big Leagues

It wasn’t the fact that Gregg Blundell’s LS7-powered ’69 was wearing California plates that impressed us, but the fact that he drove the Camaro all the way to Ohio for the event put big smile on our collective faces. Gregg knocked down a best lap time of 37.424 and had a blast doing it.

Kenny Edwards' 1968 was built on a tight budget and fielded an LS1/T56 combo ripped from a wrecked GTO. The recent high school graduate drove the Camaro to the show from New York and ran it hard enough to land in the Top Five shootout for the Street Machine class. His best lap was a 36.607.

Sitting firmly in the category of "bad-ass sounding" was Mary and Clayton Graham's 1967 Camaro. Powered by a Grumpy Jenkins 406 mil backed up by a 700-R4, this Street Machine of the Year (SMOTY) contender knocked down a 41.84-second lap on the auto-cross course. And while it didn't win the SMOTY, it did pick up a Builder's Choice award and was the fastest SMOTY contender around the track.

Another gearhead battling for the SMOTY prize was New Hampshire's Jeff Dupont in his 1969. Powered by a 675hp Mast LS7, Jeff's Camaro laid down a best autocross time of 43.03 sec. in his Detroit Speed-equipped Camaro.

If there's any sort of driving event, then you can expect to find Brian Finch whipping his 1970 around the cones. Brian worked it hard all weekend and competed in the Sponsor Shootout. His best recorded time of the weekend was a 35.706-second run.

Camaro Performers magazine alumni and president of American Auto Wire, Michael Manning, wheeled his sweet 1969 around the track all weekend. His best lap was 40.96 seconds.

Detroit Speed's Kyle Tucker never leaves anything on the table. If you doubt us, just catch a ride with him sometime. After days of hard running, Kyle came out on top to win the Sponsor Shootout at the autocross. Besides a hefty check, Kyle got all-important bragging rights for a year. His best time was an impressive 35.410-second blast.

Our award for car-we-most-wanted-to-see-on-the-autocross, went to Chad Kucsan's 502 big-block-powered Hugger Orange 1969. This ride just oozed track attitude and featured a ton of homemade CNC parts.

One of the more beautiful Camaros out on the tarmac belonged to Fairmount, Illinois' Brad Jarvis. His retina-scaring orange Camaro featured a spotless white interior and a polished-out 502 big-block.

One of the more unique Camaros in contention for the SMOTY prize was Jody Parker's 1969. Combining Pontiac cues with a host of custom body mods, it certainly stood out from the crowd.

Kevin Miller was representing Optima Batteries in the Sponsor Shootout with his 1969 Camaro. He didn't win but knocked down a very respectable lap time of 36.255 seconds.

Thousands of crazy-nice cars and beautiful weather resulted in over 100,000 spectators showing up to enjoy the festivities.

Camaro Performers magazine Technical Editor Steven Rupp took a break from shooting cars to give the COMP engine building competition a shot. He partnered up with Jake Amatisto from Chevy High Performance magazine and went up against Ryan Manson (Custom Classic Trucks) and Kev Eliott (Rod and Custom). The teams raced to assemble and fire up a basic small-block engine in the shortest amount of time. Although our team lost, it was a blast tossing an engine together with such reckless abandon.

Yancy Johns jumped behind the wheel of the Bad Penny Camaro and drove it to a First place finish in the Street Machine class with a best run of 36.020 seconds. This got him into the shootout, but in an effort to avoid cone penalties, he went a bit too conservative and didn't win the bonus prize. Still, for it being one of his first times piloting the 1968, he made us proud.

This 1969 owned by Dom DeSanto of Somers, New York, was simply stunning with a combination of silver paint and red leather interior. With over 6,200 cars in attendance, the number of amazing Camaros on hand was mind boggling.

The Goolsby Customs-built 1969 owned by Skip and Debbie Walls showed up to vie for the SMOTY award, and while it didn't win, it did land in the Top Five, which is no small feat. On the autocross course, the drop-top knocked down a solid 43.469 second run. For a more in-depth look at this Camaro, check out the June 2013 issue, it's on the cover.

One of our favorite Camaros in the SMOTY corral was David Wolfe's DSE-sprung 1969. Powered by an LS7 topped with Hilborn injectors, David maneuvered the Camaro around the course to a best time of 42.961 seconds.

Josh Leisinger's Crusher Camaro was a real crowd pleaser on the autocross. Josh's best time was a very quick 35.601-second run. If you want to see more of this hard-charging 1970, then dig up the June 2012 issue of Camaro Performers magazine.

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